Subway Vision Website Launches

San Francisco — (August 18, 2016) Today Supervisor Wiener released the following statement on the launch of the Subway Vision website, which seeks public input on the future of subway construction in San Francisco. The website was created as part of the process required by the Subway Master Plan legislation authored by Supervisor Wiener. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, and the Planning Department have been collaborating on the site, which allows members of the public to draw subway routes and provide feedback on their visions for the future of San Francisco transit.

In 2015, Supervisor Wiener authored the Subway Master Plan legislation in order to ensure that San Francisco stays on track with transit expansions and improvements as San Francisco and the Bay Area continue to grow. Supervisor Wiener accompanied the legislation with an essay entitled “San Francisco Should Always Have A Subway Under Construction.”

Rendering of new Chinatown Station for the Central Subway, which will open to the public in 2019.

“Remaking our transportation system requires a forward-looking approach, and we need a clear vision for the future of transportation in our city and region,” said Supervisor Wiener. “San Francisco and the Bay Area are growing by leaps and bounds, and we must move more of our public transportation underground. We need more subways, and we need true regional rail that connects our entire region. As the Bay Area grows by two million people in the next 25 years, we cannot afford to have another million cars on our roads, freeways, and bridges. We need more transit, and we need to pursue it aggressively. The launch of the Subway Vision website is a great way to get feedback from the public and for people to share their passion about where they want to see subways in our City.”

Supervisor Wiener’s Subway Master Plan legislation, which was passed by the Board of Supervisors last year, requires the creation of a long-term policy for new citywide subway construction with a goal that San Francisco expand its inadequate subway system. Currently San Francisco has two subways — a short subway under Market Street for Muni and a BART subway that runs down Market Street to the Mission and to Daly City. Most of San Francisco has no subway access at all. A second Muni subway tunnel, the Central Subway, is under construction and will be open in 2019. The Subway Master Plan requires that the city come up with an outline for long-term subway expansion throughout the entire city.

Supervisor Wiener chairs the San Francisco County Transportation Authority and represents San Francisco on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. He authored Proposition B, the 2014 ballot measure that ties transit funding to population growth, as well as legislation to move San Francisco toward improved late night transportation.